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20090929

Paralysed Afrikaner Henry Vorster shot dead in Pretoria

20090928 Henry Vorster, 57, semi-paralysed from a stroke, shot dead at The Willows, Pretoria North

29 September 2009, 06:42 By Barry Bateman Pretoria_News – An (Afrikaner) man, partially paralysed by a stroke, was shot in front of his wife when he could not open the passenger side door of the vehicle three gunmen were hijacking.

The (black) attackers shot the partially-paralysed Henry Vorster, 57, execution-style – right through the neck and then through his chest -- just moments after shooting and injuring his wife Magriet, 58, outside their Die Wilgers (Willows) secured townhouse complex at about 11pm on Friday.

A stroke about four years ago paralysed Vorster down his left side, making him almost unable to walk and rendering his left arm useless.

Police arrested the three suspects during a shoot-out in Soshanguve on Saturday with the three men driving the stolen red VW Polo but claim they ‘have yet to link them to the hijacking and murder.”

Magriet said from her hospital bed that the couple had left her mother's house in Pretoria North after a braai late on Friday night. "When we arrived at The Willows complex I noticed a car near the gate but couldn't see anyone inside the it," she said from her hospital bed.

"I pressed the button to open the security gate and the next minute there was this guy next to the car. He shouted that it was a hijacking and that we must get out of the car or he would shoot," she said.

Magriet said she immediately tried to get out, but the gunman smashed the window and fired a shot which struck her right hand.

Could not open door – my husband was paralysed on that side…

"As I got out of the car he shot me again in the leg. I screamed at my husband to get out of the car but he could not open the door anyway because his left side is paralysed. “

"The gunman pulled (my husband) over the car's centre console and out of the driver's door. They thenshot him in the neck, but before throwing him on the ground they shot him through the heart," she said.

Magriet, fighting back tears, explained how her husband was struggling to breathe. "I realised he was not getting air and rolled him over. I wanted to get my bag so I could use my phone to call for help, but the men had stolen it too. I started screaming at the top of my lungs," she said.

A neighbour across the road heard the commotion. He spotted the suspects and gave chase while another neighbour called for help. The neighbour who chased after the suspects soon returned. He loaded the injured couple into his car and rushed them to Wilgers Hospital.

"Doctors tried to resuscitate Henry for about an hour and a half, but he died," she said. Soshanguve police arrested the three suspects on Saturday after a shootout. Police Inspector Mike Mbewe said police spotted the red Polo and gave chase. He said a shootout ensued during which one of the suspects was wounded. "He is in hospital under police guard. The men were arrested and charged with being in possession of a stolen vehicle. They still need to be linked to the hijack and murder," he said.

Why did they shoot a paralysed man who posed no threat to them?

Magriet said her two children, a son and daughter, were struggling to come to terms with the murder. She said she could not understand why the suspects would shoot her husband who clearly posed no threat.

"He could not do anything on his own. He was still adapting to the stroke. I had to bath him and put his clothes on for him," she said. Magriet said she would see the men again in court. "I will testify in their trial," she said.

The term "genocide" was coined by legal scholar Raphael Lemkin in 1943, writing:

'Generally speaking, genocide does not necessarily mean the immediate destruction of a nation, except when accomplished by mass killings of all members of a nation. It is intended rather to signify a coordinated plan of different actionsaiming at the destruction of essential foundations of the life of national groups, with the aim of annihilating the groups themselves.

The objectives of such a plan would be the disintegration of the political and social institutions, of culture, language, national feelings, religion, and the economic existence of national groups, and the destruction of personal security, liberty, health, dignity and lives of the members of such groups... '